RAILROAD COMMISSION PROPOSES GAS PIPELINE REPLACEMENT RULES
The Texas Railroad Commission has proposed rules that would require all gas system operators, including municipal operators, to develop and implement a risk-based program for the removal or replacement of certain distribution facilities. (Replacement of steel service lines is the primary goal of the rule.)
Each operator will be required to develop a risk-based program in conjunction with the recently adopted U.S. Department of Transportation Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration's regulations regarding integrity management. Each operator will use the risk-based program to manage any risks identified through the risk-based analysis by developing a replacement program to remove those integrity-related risks from its system.
This proposed rule could be extremely costly for cities that operate a gas utility. Detailed information about the proposed rule is available here.
The Railroad Commission is accepting comments on the proposed rules until noon on Tuesday, October 12, 2010.
